Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Savannah, GA MSA — October 2026
Savannah IT pay splits: builders gain, security and support slide.
Savannah Software Engineer pay climbed to $142,998 while Cybersecurity Analyst pay fell significantly to $84,027, even as the metro's 2.7% unemployment rate signals a historically tight labor market.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Savannah metro unemployment rate: 2.7% — vs 3.3% Georgia, 4.1% national (May 2026)
- Q2 regional employment growth: +500 jobs (0.2%) — Sharp slowdown from prior quarterly gains
- Initial unemployment claims, Q1 2026: 657 — Up 11.4% from 590 in prior quarter
- National tech layoffs, YTD Oct 2026: 133,417 workers — Already exceeds full-year 2025 total
Key takeaways
Security and network pay are falling while the risk isn't.
Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay dropped significantly to $84,027 against a rising $107,327 national median, and Network Engineer pay fell to $82,359 locally even as national rates climbed. Widening gaps like these often precede talent flight to remote national employers, a pattern distinct from reduced local demand for these skills.
Systems Administrator pay is the one infrastructure role gaining ground.
Local Systems Administrator pay rose to $90,000, closing in on the $102,503 national figure, while most other infrastructure and security roles moved down. Consider this a marker of which skillsets Savannah employers are actively competing for versus simply back-filling.
Software Engineer pay strength signals local demand for builders and maintainers alike.
Metro Software Engineer pay rose to $142,998, nearly matching the $154,403 national median and outperforming most other local IT roles. Combined with Georgia's projected growth of 7,300+ software developer jobs by 2028, this suggests Savannah employers are investing in build capacity even as support and security pay soften.
Help Desk pay erosion may reflect outsourcing pressure more than demand shifts.
Help Desk/IT Support pay fell significantly to $48,793 locally against an already-declining $53,129 national figure. With roughly 130 BPO firms employing 46,000 workers in Georgia's outsourcing sector, this may reflect routine support functions shifting toward lower-cost delivery models, with the underlying need for the work holding steady.
Median advertised pay by role — Savannah, GA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $67,241 | $94,879 | $113,588 | Moderate decline | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $76,249 | $90,000 | $97,689 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $65,445 | $82,359 | $95,980 | Significant decline | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $86,181 | $142,998 | $162,935 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $39,001 | $48,793 | $52,579 | Significant decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $75,784 | $84,027 | $115,422 | Significant decline | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $83,698 | $110,659 | $125,684 | Stable | $118,150 |
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Savannah's labor market closed out Q2 2026 near full employment, with a 2.7% unemployment rate and a record labor force of 220,823, yet regional employment growth has flattened to just 500 net jobs added in the quarter — a sign that tight labor supply is now the binding constraint on hiring. Rising initial unemployment claims, up 11.4% in Q1 2026, alongside Georgia's statewide information-sector expansion of 37.1% in 2025, point to a market where skilled technical labor is scarce even as broader hiring momentum cools.
What it means
Local technical pay has moved in two directions at once — Systems Administrator advertised pay climbed to $90,000 while Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst rates fell significantly, a divergence that likely reflects employers consolidating security and infrastructure duties into fewer, more senior roles, pointing to a shift in role structure separate from overall demand levels. With Georgia's domestic IT talent supply failing to keep pace with demand and national tech layoffs (133,417 through October) creating an uneven candidate pool, build-vs-buy decisions increasingly hinge on whether displaced national talent will relocate to or work remotely for Savannah-based employers. Consider reviewing whether falling advertised pay in network and security roles reflects easing demand or a shift toward offshored and consolidated functions before resetting those budgets downward.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Rising Q1 initial unemployment claims (up 11.4%) alongside record labor force size suggest more workers are entering the market than are being absorbed into open roles. Watch whether this eases candidate scarcity for mid-level infrastructure and security positions over the next two quarters.
Emerging pressure point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded full-year 2025 totals, concentrated in information and cloud-native hubs. Monitor whether any of that displaced talent — particularly in security and network engineering — begins surfacing in the Savannah candidate pool given falling local advertised pay in those roles.
Worth watching: Georgia Southern's Economic Monitor forecasts continued weak regional growth into early 2027, with hospitality and retail already contracting. IT leaders supporting logistics, manufacturing and healthcare clients should track whether sector-level softness spreads to technology spending and project budgets.
Potential inflection point: Georgia's information-sector employment grew 37.1% in 2025, a pace unlikely to be sustained given flattening Q2 regional job growth overall. Watch Q3/Q4 state data for signs this growth rate is normalizing, which would affect assumptions used in 2027 technology headcount planning.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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